DT Swiss DT Revolution Reviews

DT Swiss DT Revolution

Average Rating			4.51/5
# of Reviews			51
MSRP			$ 1.11
Weight

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Description:

Double butted: 14/17 gauge (2.0/1.5mm) and 15/17 gauge (1.8/1.5mm)
MSRP for per spoke with alloy nipple = $1.11

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Submitted by Yocal420 a Cross Country Rider from NorCal Date Reviewed: 9/23/2007 6:06:41 PM
FavoriteTrail:	TRT
Duration Product Used:	More than 3 years
Strengths:	Outstanding product, cheap, easy way to drop weight.
Weaknesses:	none
Similar Products Tried:	DT and wheelsmith
Bottom Line:	What is up with the idiot from Missouri? Probably has a rusty chain 'cause he hasn't taken his bike in for its yearly tune up. This is a great way to upgrade a wheelset. I regularly would break 15g spokes then built up a set with the the 14/17g and have put over 5000 miles on them without breaking 1. Saving a couple hundred grams of rotational weight is equivalent to taking pounds off your bike or your gut. It's easily worth the extra $10-20 over conventional spokes if building a new wheelset. These are the way to go for xc and trailriders.
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Submitted by Andro Galero a Weekend Warrior from Butuan City, Philippines Date Reviewed: 2/22/2005 12:41:20 AM
FavoriteTrail:	Malalag Trail
Duration Product Used:	1 Year
Price Paid:	$72
Strengths:	-lighter than my generic stainless steel spokes
Weaknesses:	-none
Similar Products Tried:	generic stainless steel spokes
Bike Setup:	Tank Lights hubs, Mavic X517 rims, Specialized Roll-X Pro 2.0 tires and Continental Supersonic tubes.
Bottom Line:	I weigh 145 lbs. and ride 8-12 hours a week on cross country trails around my home. I has these installed by a competent wheel builder from mu LBS and i never had to true them since. They are lighter by 252 grams than my previous spokes and brass nipples. If you want to make your bike lighter and faster, start with lighter tires, tubes, rims and DT Revolution spokes.
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Submitted by Karl from UK Date Reviewed: 1/18/2005 2:50:22 AM
Duration Product Used:	2 Years
Strengths:	Light weight.
Bottom Line:	Great spokes. These were chosen to build a real light wheel, expecting it to last 1 season of racing, but 2 years down the line they're still going strong. However, I only do XC and weigh 160lb which is presumably what these were designed for. Built the wheel (mavic 517 to Hugi 240s) and added copper grease to the alloy nipples (incl. rear drive side at 1 cross). I think these spokes are prone to twisting however, and if the twist is not taken out, this could weaken the spoke in the long run. So 2 tips for taken out twist: 1. For every spoke I applied a quick 1/4 turn unwind to take out any twisting during tightening. 2. Applied copper grease to both spoke thread and nipple seat that contacts rim (so reducing friction to eradicate twisting... which might also lead to increased loosening but hasn't happened in this case providing they're under quite some tension). After the next two trips I trued them a bit more, and had absolutely no problem since then (and the alloy nipps haven't siezed to the rim either). Great spokes, just build with a little care.
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Submitted by axel from yakima Date Reviewed: 6/25/2003 1:34:36 AM
FavoriteTrail:	skyline
Duration Product Used:	1 Year
Price Paid:	$1
Purchased At:	sagebrushcycles
Strengths:	hold wheel tension,dont snap at ends like straight guage
Weaknesses:	expensive
Similar Products Tried:	all others made by dt
Bike Setup:	several bikes
Bottom Line:	I have used them on an XT disk and rhino lite wheel set and this wheel has been from my crosscountry bike to my dirt jumper to my 200lbs friend dirt jumper to several other cross country bikes and the spokes still hold thieer tension and the wheel still is very true. dont know if its beacause my wheelbuilder rulles or if it is this spokes and components but it must be a combination and that these spokes just plain rule.
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Submitted by Matt a Cross Country Rider from Berkeley, CA Date Reviewed: 6/22/2003 10:14:29 PM
Duration Product Used:	More than 3 years
Purchased At:	www.medinacycleworks.com
Strengths:	weight, strength
Similar Products Tried:	DT Competition, Wheelsmith crap
Bike Setup:	DT Hugi 240 hubs, Bontrager Valiant rims, Spline Drive nipples, 2x front, 3x rear
Bottom Line:	Best spokes ever for rim-brake wheels. I had mine built by the guys who own www.wrenchscience.com and I couldn't be happier. I do straight-up cross-country riding, range from 185 in the summer to 210 in the winter, and have yet to have a problem after 3+ years. Highly recommended, providing you get a good wheelbuilder. Mine were tied and soldered for extra strength with minimal weight gain.
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Submitted by Crazy Guy from Missouri Date Reviewed: 6/22/2003 7:09:25 PM
Duration Product Used:	Tested or demo'ed only
Strengths:	I can't believe you guys are writing and reading reviews about spokes. Spokes!! Are you dumb? Would you write reviews for air or sunlight? Geez!
Bottom Line:	The bottom line is that you all have too much money and time and not enough sense to use them correctly. Get a life.
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Submitted by Robert a Cross Country Rider from chattanooga, TN Date Reviewed: 1/22/2003 2:30:57 PM
Duration Product Used:	More than 3 years
Price Paid:	$1
Purchased At:	East Ridge Bicycles
Strengths:	Strong and light weight.
Weaknesses:	None
Similar Products Tried:	Everything.
Bike Setup:	Titus Riddler, King ISO hubs, 317 rims
Bottom Line:	i am writing this review in response to some other reviews I read about thes spoke. First, I am a bike mechanic and have built dozens of wheels with these spoke. My last set of wheels that I built for myself had 4000 miles on them. i only had to true them once. I think that the peple who have had problems with these spokes have had wheels that were built improperly. It is very important to do this right. If you don't build these right, they will not not stay true. The key with the Revolutions is spoke tension. The wheels need to have the same tension all around. They also need to be run at very high tension. This is what makes them strong. I have built wheels for guys that are 280 lbs, and they have never broken a spoke. Most of these guys never have to have them trued. These spokes are actually stronger that a straight 14 guage, which says alot since they are nearly half the weight. If you have wheels built with thes spokes by someone who knows how to properly build wheels, you will have no problems.
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Submitted by Rik a Cross Country Rider from Washington Date Reviewed: 12/11/2001 9:52:03 AM
Duration Product Used:	Less than 1 month
Price Paid:	$1
Purchased At:	Cambria Bicycle Oufitters (Biggest B@STARDS on the Net!!!!)
Strengths:	Very light, cuts down on crucial wheel weight, strong, sexy looking.
Weaknesses:	Might not be suited for heavy riders (over 180 lbs.), lateral flex can be an issue.
Similar Products Tried:	DT Competition
Bike Setup:	KHS Pro STEEL Full Suspension, z2 xfly, velocity rims (best around, mate), full xt-xtr
Bottom Line:	These spokes rock, a little hard to build up (find a good wheel builder if you aren't experienced), but worth every penny. Just as strong, gram for gram as Competitions. Ok, here's the beef... Never, ever, buy anything from Cambria Bike. These guys have the worst customer service people I've ever dealt with, and yes, I've called Rock Shox before. These guys sent ran out of the Rev's in the length I wanted, so they sent Competitions instead, at the same price, and told me after they shipped already. I got the package, they didn't even include all of the rev's they were supposed to in the right length! So I have 16 of the wrong spokes for the rear and not enough for the front. So I called to complain, no problem they said, they'll ship them out tomorrow, no charge. 3 weeks later. No spokes. I call back, "oh, they're on back order, you should have caleed to find out sooner, it'll be another 3 weeks, send us back the wrong ones at your expense, ok?" I flipped out, talked the MANAGER, who was a prick, and still had to wait almost a week. I could have flown to switzerland and gone to the factory myslef for less hassle than these people gave me. They gave no apologies, offered no refunds, and I probably spent closev to 3 hours on the phone with these idiots for 64 tiny strands of steel. Do yourself a favor, boycott these b@stards. I'm out.
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Submitted by Jeremy a Racer from Ohio Date Reviewed: 5/26/2001 11:06:45 AM
FavoriteTrail:	Ceasar Creek State Park
Duration Product Used:	2 Years
Purchased At:	came with bike
Strengths:	Light, strong, everything a racer wants in a spoke
Weaknesses:	a bit flexy under hard cornering
Similar Products Tried:	average Joe steel 15g spokes w/ Mavic 238, Mavic 517 w/ DT spokes
Bike Setup:	Homegrown, Sun SubIV, XTR hubset
Bottom Line:	When I had my new wheels built for this season the first thing on my priority list was these spokes. Light and strong. Plenty of spoke for a 140lb racer. I'd never build a weelset without them (for rim brakes). Probably not the best choice for a disk wheel.
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Submitted by Jim a Cross Country Rider from Fremont Date Reviewed: 2/24/2001 2:27:39 PM
FavoriteTrail:	Toads
Duration Product Used:	More than 3 years
Price Paid:	$60
Purchased At:	Movin On Cyclery
Strengths:	Very light and very strong in 14/17 gage .
Weaknesses:	None .
Similar Products Tried:	Wheelsmith and Ritchy
Bike Setup:	01 Ellsworth Truth - loaded .
Bottom Line:	I have been using these spokes on all my bikes for the past 3 years without a single problem . I radial lace fronts and 3x rears for exellent strength to weight ratio . I use the 14/17 gage with 32 hole Mavic 517s and spline drive nipples laced to King hubs for the ultimate cross country rims . If you been breaking other brands try these but would not use for downhill racing .
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Submitted by Patrik Westerlund a Cross Country Rider from Stockholm, Sweden Date Reviewed: 10/6/2000 1:12:55 AM
Duration Product Used:	1 Year
Price Paid:	$1
Purchased At:	Cykel City
Strengths:	Light, well done
Weaknesses:	Too soft, more trueing, puts strress on the rim
Similar Products Tried:	Wheelsmith 1,8/1,5, DT 2,0, DT 2,0/1,8
Bike Setup:	Access Ti frame, XTR drivetrain, RS SID sl -99, Hope+Mavic
Bottom Line:	They are ok, but I will continue to build on DT 2,0/1,8 because they are superior in my use. These spokes are too soft. It takes much longer to build wheels, the stress on my rims (eyelets) cause problems, I have to true the wheels much more often than desired. Sure, they are light, but I can survive with 750/900 g weight with my 2,0/1,8.
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Submitted by Luke a Cross Country Rider from Knoxcille,TN,USA Date Reviewed: 9/19/2000 11:13:35 PM
FavoriteTrail:	lock4
Duration Product Used:	2 Years
Price Paid:	$25
Purchased At:	QBP
Strengths:	Super lightweight, makes a WONDERFUL wheel.
Weaknesses:	SUPER hard to build right when compared to other spokes. Pricey.
Similar Products Tried:	Wheelsmith DB and All sorths of DTs
Bike Setup:	Jamis Dragon
Bottom Line:	These spokes make for a wheel with practically magical qualities. Superlightweight and absolute bombproof durability. The catch is that they have to be laced up right by a good wheelbuilder, and they have to be pampered during the building process. SLOWLY bring the spokes to tension, pre stress, spoke prep, seat the niples...the works. But all of it pays off in the end. I used a chris king hub, CR-17 rim , and 3x revolutions on a TANDEM and it held up great, even though its light enough to race with. Reccomend them to EVERYONE who has access to a good wheelbuilder, crappy builders don't even desrve to touch these things.
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Submitted by Rome Felicano a Cross Country Rider from Diego Garcia, B.I.O.T. Date Reviewed: 8/28/2000 1:05:21 PM
FavoriteTrail:	all of the trails here
Duration Product Used:	6 months
Price Paid:	$40
Purchased At:	Cambria Bicycle Outfitters
Strengths:	LIGHT weight
Weaknesses:	Expensive. .20/ea more than the "double-butted" Spoke wind-up when trueing the wheels.
Similar Products Tried:	DT Swiss 14 gauge/ double butted 14/15 ga double butted 15/16 ga
Bike Setup:	Y2K Access Ti-XTR/SRAM all the good stuff GT CNC red front hub/XTR rear hub with 15/17 DT Revolutions laced radial front/ half 3X/half radial rear/ Mavic 217's and spline-drive niples in red.
Bottom Line:	Even though I am a heavy rider, I have no problems riding this wheelset. I built them from scratch, and they stay pretty true. I think that I would have done just as well with the 15/16 spokes and saved a little cash while I was at it. I am satisfied though.
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Submitted by Dave Strain a Weekend Warrior from Richmond In Date Reviewed: 8/20/2000 12:48:38 PM
FavoriteTrail:	all
Duration Product Used:	More than 3 years
Strengths:	light wieght
Weaknesses:	the drive side pull spokes started breaking at the begining of the outside butt this year.
Similar Products Tried:	DT 14/15, DT 14
Bike Setup:	yes
Bottom Line:	had to true them a lot. I used a spoke tension meter. they break where no self respecting spoke should. Oh, they are light.
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Submitted by m sylvan a Cross Country Rider from seattle Date Reviewed: 8/17/2000 10:09:50 AM
FavoriteTrail:	top secret
Duration Product Used:	1 Year
Price Paid:	$1000000
Purchased At:	local dealer
Strengths:	weight
Weaknesses:	strength
Similar Products Tried:	never paid attention before...
Bike Setup:	strong racing frame, mix of shimano and race face parts, bontrager mustang ceramic rims.
Bottom Line:	these spokes are very weak. i know my rims to be strong, but these spokes can't keep them in line. this is the first time since i have been riding (1987) that i have to constantly true my wheels. unless you can true your wheels yourself, add a little weight and use a stronger spoke. i'm sure dt is a fine company, but these spokes are not good for anybody who rides regularly, and needs a strong and reliable spoke. i think they are more of a racing spoke.
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Submitted by John B a Weekend Warrior from Urbana, Illinois Date Reviewed: 12/6/1999
FavoriteTrail:	Always looking
Duration Product Used:	more than 3 years
Strengths:	Almost as light as ti without the cost or breakage.
Weaknesses:	???????????
Similar Products Tried:	DT 14 straight and DT 14-15 Double butts and 15-15 double butts.
Bike Setup:	Dean Oscar with an Atom Bomb.
Bottom Line:	It's my favorite. For what I put them thru an occasional truing is a small price to pay. I've never broke one or have known anyone to break one. I'm not a flywight either, 175 lbs. I have been slaming into logs trees and evrything else and these spokes keep doing what they are supposed to do.
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Submitted by Kurt a Weekend Warrior from SLC, Utah Date Reviewed: 12/5/1999
FavoriteTrail:	Mueller Park
Duration Product Used:	6 months
Strengths:	Weight! Looks(BLACK) Strenght-to-weight Ratio
Weaknesses:	Cost Need a Skilled Builder Poss. Length Problems (they stretch quite a bit)
Similar Products Tried:	Worked in shops for years; I've tried most everything
Bike Setup:	Trek 8000 w/ XTR, Englunds, ATACS, Flite,and Salsa Boosters
Bottom Line:	At 200 lbs a radial ft, 3x drive/rdl nd wheelset doesn't exactly follow most peoples advice. These spokes have been bomber in spite of a number of hits that have made me cringe. They're actually stronger than 14/15's because the Revolution butting process provides better grain alignment(that's good). You DO have to run very high spoke tension and Spline Drive nipples help greatly with this. If you bring up tension slowly and evenly, wind-up shouldn't be a problem. Depending on the rim, pull-through might be a problem. I'm running Velocity Aeroheats(WAY underrated) and this is not a problem even though they're not eyletted. Get yourself a very good builder, a suitable rim, and enjoy. I'd give them five peppers, but they aren't for hack wheel builders(there's a LOT of 'em)so only four.
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Submitted by gary a Racer from socal Date Reviewed: 11/5/1999
FavoriteTrail:
Duration Product Used:	1 Year
Strengths:	light
Weaknesses:	weak like wet spaghetti
Similar Products Tried:	dt competition 14/15
Bike Setup:	22lb ht racer
Bottom Line:	i'm ditching these flimsy spaghetti needles and going back to reliable and strong 14/15 competition's. i have had bad luck with these spokes, i weigh 160 and race xc but these are way too flexy for me, they come out of true way too often compared with my 14/15 set. and if you hear about rims getting cracks at the eyelets it is because of these spokes, the high tension required in setting up these spokes often leads to cracking in the eyelets, its not the rim's fault, its this spoke. two for lightness, note that these skokes (64 of them) are 100 grams lighter than 14/15 competition spokes, so if you want a strong ride, look to the 14/15's.
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Submitted by hugh a Cross-Country Rider from albuquerque Date Reviewed: 6/7/1999
Duration Product Used:	more than 3 years
Strengths:	light, strong
Weaknesses:	more difficult to work with
Similar Products Tried:	virtually all kinds of spokes
Bike Setup:	road wheels, mtn wheels, king hubs, mavic rims, moots, merlins, guerc,vitus
Bottom Line:	Excellent lightweight reliable spoke if you're not in the hippo class. These spokes will assist you in building lightweight quality wheels. However, these spokes do require appropriate thread prep, meticulous attention to equa, balancedl and truly measured (tensionometer) wheel tensioning, and appropriate unwinding to build a successful wheel. Don't blame spokes forusing these spokes for the wrong application or to lousy attention to the details of wheelbuilding.
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Submitted by Porkchop a Racer from Littleton, CO Date Reviewed: 5/14/1999
FavoriteTrail:	I-70
Duration Product Used:	3 months
Strengths:	Light
Weaknesses:	Fragile
Similar Products Tried:	14 g DT 15g DT 14/15g butted DT 15/16g butted DT
Bike Setup:	White Industry road rear hub, Reflex clincher rim, 32 hole, alloy nipple
Bottom Line:	See below for description of build process. I rode the Revolution wheels on rough roads a few times, but light mileage overall. Less than 1000 miles total. At Gila I broke a non-drive side spoke at the elbow. The wheel stayed true to that point. The biggest stresses on the wheel that day were probably cattle guards- I didn't hit any holes. I'm not even sure when it broke, but I'm betting it was close to or during the final sprint or I would have noticed! Maybe I'm just too fat for these spokes (168 lbs)!
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Submitted by Bruce a Weekend Warrior from Ferndale,CA Date Reviewed: 4/12/1999
FavoriteTrail:	Prarie Lookout, Redwood Park
Duration Product Used:	more than 3 years
Strengths:	Light weight, reasonably priced.
Weaknesses:	Broke spoke elbow on non drive side, outside bend spoke.
Similar Products Tried:	DT 14/15/14, Wheelsmith 14/16/14 gauge
Bike Setup:	Road, Ultegra 9-spd, Mavic Reflex, 32 spoke.
Bottom Line:	I used a 15/18/15 gauge revolution wheel for about 3 years on relatively smooth roads. On bumpy roads I broke a non drive side spoke at the elbow. Also when repairing the wheel and retensioning the spokes, I actually stretched the drive side spokes so far that they weakened and would not tensioned anymore (I also ran out of threads) I always thought that you would strip an alloy nipple before you exceeded the yield strength of any stainless steel spoke. These spokes are on the extreme edge of tension and yield failure. I have had super success on my cross country mountain bike, with no rear suspension with the same spoke, except they are about a 30mm shorter, and don't get slammed by square edged pot holes with 120 psi tires. Also when this spoke broke the rim was not flat spotted and the tire did not pinch flat.
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Submitted by Neil Mouneimne a weekend warrior from Pasadena, CA Date Reviewed: 2/22/1999
Bottom Line:	This is my second review of the DT Revolution spokes. I just built up a new wheelset for a friend yesterday using DT Revolution 2.0/1.5 spokes on the rear wheel and Ritchey Logic 1.8/1.5 on the front. The Ritchey spokes are made by DT, so I presume that they're merely rebadged Revolutions. A couple things I noted. The large difference in diameter on the 2.0/1.5 spokes makes the spokes near the hub want to stick out. Using a screwdriver handle, I flattened them all out with some effort. The Ritchey spokes didn't have that problem however. Presumably because when they flex, they flex uniformly rather than at the butting point. Finally, on these wheels I encountered no wind-up problems at all for a change. I'm not sure why it was so easy this time, but perhaps it had something to do with the fact that I gradually tensioned all the spokes gradually over the course of many passes. Anyhow, I was very pleased with the results.
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Submitted by Porkchop a racer from Littleton Date Reviewed: 2/18/1999
Bottom Line:	I just finished building up a road wheelset with DT Revolutions. 2x rear, radial front 32 spokes each. I used White Industries hubs from Colo Cyclist's VeloSwap junk bin. Anyone wanna guess how long before my radial lacing rips the flanges off my front hub? :-) I don't think it's a forged shell...The spokes are beauties, but they really do wind up in building. I overspun and backlashed my fingers off, so I hope they don't have any or much twist left in them. I've built some quite good and some quite crappy wheels, and I have found that residual twist = CRAP CRAP CRAP. I didn't hear any ping ping ping during my initial rides, which often is the sound of the spokes getting rid of that twist. And the wheels are still round and true. According to a local build guru (local racing shop owner), DT's don't really require lubrication of threads due to the fact that they are shipped lubed in bulk. If you are using spokeprep, in fact, you need to clean the threads with solvent. Guru suggested building as is then loctite. And Dave, what are you talking about about with this people don't understand that these spokes are SINGLE butted only at the elbow? You should actually try the product before you review it!! You know why people don't understand? Because ...these are like, SO DOUBLE BUTTED! WAY DOUBLE BUTTED! They're 2.0mm/1.5mm/2.0mm. Just think, if they weren't, they'd require a 17 gauge nipple. I don't think they even make such a thing. (I kept looking at the spokes trying to determine if I was imagining the very definite bulge going into to the thread area...) And yeah, my $160 wheels are lighter than $600 french merde! Oops, I take it back, those guys do make fine hoops.
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Submitted by Guido Kerssens a cross-country rider from the Netherlands Date Reviewed: 2/10/1999
Bottom Line:	DT- spokes are the best I ever used and they have great service. I've used my first set Of Revolution spoked wheels without much having to true them and they came down a few mountains.....Now the Revolutions are available in BLACK and believe me I haven't riden them yet, but they sure look great Chris (2 reviews below)!As for the service I don't want to get in details, but they sure like their customers. Thanks Mr.Keller!
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Submitted by SS from Norway Date Reviewed: 1/26/1999
Bottom Line:	I re-built the stock wheels on my Proflex more than 2 years ago, using DT rev. spokes (2-cross on Hope/XTR hubs & Mavic rims). After several thousand km's of riding the wheels are still true, without having to tighten/ adjust ONCE ! If you are looking for durability & weight savings, you can't go wrong with these !
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Submitted by Chris a cross-country rider from UK Date Reviewed: 1/21/1999
Bottom Line:	I won't use anything else, having used rev's. Nothing else touches them for price, weight and strength. But come on DT - do them in black ! Rev's are No. 1.
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Submitted by kelvin a racer from England
Date Reviewed: 1/7/1999

Bottom Line:

Brought a wheel set and specified the revolutions without really knowing what they were like compared to normal ACI double spokes. Well they look very sexy, beautiful butting on the spoke, but my rear wheel was giving me hell, the hubs were Ultegra, and the rims are the Mavic open pros. After about 3 rides the rear was very out of true, checking the tension of the wheel found that the entire tension was far too loose and one spoke was totally loose ! 30 minutes of truing got it straight, and then I wound in a bit more tension so the spokes go ping instead of pong when plucked. Since then I've had to true them something like 4 times - they seem to always go out of true !!! I think the crappy roads of Ireland don't help but I'm not exactly heavy at 67kgs, and I do avoid a lot of the really big holes.
In closing I wish I'd went for something heavier, the wheels are light, but the amount of trueing does my head in, so four for the quality, but minus 1 for the head ache of truing. Even though I probably won't use the wheel builder who produced these again.